‘Where is his leadership?’ Newhouse’s silence on human rights is troubling | Opinion

Authoritarianism growing in U.S.

Our country is in big trouble. An authoritarian leadership (if not a dictatorship) is now on the horizon.

The president is ignoring lawful judicial orders, orders that have for generations been observed and followed by all. He already has Congress in the palm of his hand, mostly.

He is replacing career law enforcement officers in the Department of Justice and in the FBI with lackeys and stooges. The Department of Defense is underway, as well.

He’s bringing in many other people who have also sold out on their solemn oath to the Constitution.

Have you seen one of his cabinet meetings on TV? The obsequious brown nosing is so hideously blatant it’s like watching North Korea’s Dear Leader.

The only way he can fail now is to have the bottom fall out of the economy too soon. I hate to say it, but I hope it happens sooner rather than later. For the sake of our democracy. And the country.

John Torrey, West Richland

Silent Majority needs your voice

Silent Majority Foundation is the best organization in Washington state to defend and protect our Constitution and our God-given rights. Their goal is to restore the citizens’ voice and stop the overreach of a tyrannical government.

The majority in the Washington State Legislature has been passing oppressive and unconstitutional legislation. We cannot let the government become the master of our lives, controlling every aspect of our lives. This is not freedom; it is making the average Washingtonian a slave to the governor and a small group of legislators who believe in Marxist ideology.

We here in Washington state must not become helpless victims of a government that will soon dictate what our rights are, and any action taken without the permission of the government will be a violation of the law.

This is why we need the Silent Majority Foundation to push back and reinstate constitutional principles and protection of the rule of law before we have no one to help us. Go to the Silent Majority Foundation and take a look to see what they are doing right now to help restore your rights against those who want to take them away.

Delmer Eldred, Goldendale

Silence of the Dan deeply troubling

I am deeply troubled by Rep. Dan Newhouse’s silence on a matter of basic human rights.

The Trump administration forcibly deported Abrego Garcia and many other immigrants without criminal convictions to a prison in El Salvador, effectively kidnapping people from U.S. soil and handing them over to a foreign country. This is not a policy failure, it’s a moral crisis.

Where is Rep. Newhouse’s condemnation? Where is his leadership? Silence in the face of such inhumane actions is tantamount to complicity. These are real people with families, jobs and lives here, torn away and sent in harm’s way without due process.

Rep. Newhouse cannot claim to uphold justice or the Constitution while turning a blind eye to such abuse. His constituents deserve better.

We need representatives who speak out against cruelty, not ones who enable it through their own inaction.

Cory Miller, Kennewick

The detonation of our U.S. economy

Trump’s tariffs have detonated a dangerous economic chain reaction — torpedoing U.S. stock values, undermining U.S. Treasuries and weakening the dollar. These are not abstract numbers.

They signal rising instability that puts the nation at risk of recession — and puts eastern Washington, with its export-reliant economy, at risk of depression.

Our farmers, orchardists and small manufacturers rely on stable global trade. These tariffs are already straining livelihoods across our region.

Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican, has shown a troubling lack of leadership in opposing them. In fact, he’s done next to nothing. That’s dereliction of duty.

The Constitution established the legislative branch as a check on executive power — not an echo chamber. Members of Congress are elected to represent people, not party leaders. Their job is to advocate for our communities and hold the president accountable when policies harm those they serve.

Baumgartner’s silence is not neutrality — it’s complicity. Eastern Washington deserves a representative who will stand up for our economy, not sit quietly while it’s undermined.

Leadership means telling the truth, even when it’s politically inconvenient. If Rep. Baumgartner won’t do that, then it’s time to elect someone who will.

Linda Gunshefski, Walla Walla

Dan’s the man for all Trump’s plans

Anyone who has seen a documentary about the Church of Scientology will know that members are not allowed to speak out or even try to leave the church without facing expulsion, retribution, humiliation and personal attacks; it is justifiably described as a cult. MAGA is no different.

Like Scientology, MAGA has smart, educated people who just can’t bring themselves to criticize Trump, yet alone denigrate him. He is their leader, and they are devoted to him, not the country or the people who live in it.

Since his courageous vote to impeach Trump after Jan. 6, and Trump’s attempt to primary Dan, it appears Newhouse has been re-programmed to fall in line with MAGA.

Newhouse enthusiastically stood and clapped as Trump promoted taking over the Panama Canal during his address to Congress; he’s probably all in on taking over Greenland and Canada as well.

Dan’s constituents have been clamoring for an opportunity to voice their concerns about minor, unimportant things such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and constitutionally protected due process, but first Dan must slay the dragon that threatens the country’s very existence: preventing trans athletes from playing in women’s sports. Trump would be proud.

Mark A. Domarotsky, Richland

Newhouse turns MAGA yes man

Our representative in Congress, Dan Newhouse, has repeatedly betrayed his constituents and has shown himself to be a MAGA yes-man, and one who is anti-healthcare, opposed to the rule of law and pro-Jim Crow.

In February and again in April, he voted for a devastating budget proposal that guts Medicaid/Apple Health and will lead to decreased access to care, rural hospital closures and deaths in Central Washington.

He also voted for the No Rogue Rulings Act, which limits the power of federal district courts. These courts are even more important now since congressional Republicans like Mr. Newhouse have given all of their power to the president, eliminating one of our two checks on presidential power.

Mr. Newhouse also voted for the SAVE Act, which is a modern-day Jim Crow voter suppression law and would disenfranchise millions of voters. Election fraud is incredibly rare, making this law unnecessary.

All that it really does is deny the vote to lawful citizens and prop up the lie that the system is rigged and the 2020 election was stolen.To those reading this, I urge you to hold him accountable and demand a town hall.

Scott Riseley, Rock Island

First 100 days a failure for Trump

On April 30, Trump will be 100 days into his second term as president. Right-wing media have been applauding his second presidency as “promises made, promises kept,” but polls show that a majority of the American people think it is a disaster.

As of April 2025, President Trump has signed 129 executive orders, 33 proclamations, 33 memorandums, the Laken Riley Act, a continuing appropriations act and other pieces of legislation for Congress.

Since taking office, he has worked quickly to dismantle many offices of the federal government, unraveled post-World War II military and economic alliances and upended global trade networks. Some of his executive orders test the limits of executive authority and others face legal challenges

His approval ratings are already falling even before the public feels the impact of his tariffs. Polls show that a majority of Americans believe that many of his actions are cruel, chaotic and unlawful, and put our democracy at risk. The polls also indicate that the majority of Americans have little or no respect for many of his political appointments and that they were based on their personal loyalty to him instead of our country.

Is it too soon to consider another impeachment?

William Petrie, Richland

What do Murray, Newhouse think?

I would like to know what Rep. Dan Newhouse, our representative for the 4th District in Washington, has to say about the following issues.

• What is response to the continued erosion of the continued usurpation of the power of the legislative branch by the executive branch?
• What is his opinion of the defiance by the administration of rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court?
• What, if anything, is he doing to restore the powers vested in these bodies by the Constitution.

I would like the same information from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.

These people are our voice in the federal government. I have contacted both of their offices and have not received replies. I hope as our local newspaper that your staff can obtain these answers.

James D. Ternes, Pasco

This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM.